Vanessa bought a new pair of suspenders at the store when they were having a $45\%$ off sale. If the regular price of the pair of suspenders was $$65$, how much did Vanessa pay with the discount?
Answer: First, find the amount of the discount by multiplying the original price of the of the item by the discount. $$65$ $\times$ $45\%$ $=$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $45\%$ is equivalent to $\frac{45}{100}$ which is also equal to $45 \div 100$ $45 \div 100 = 0.45$ Multiply the discount you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of money saved. $0.45$ $\times$ $$65$ $ = $ $$29.25$ Subtract the discount you just found from the original price to get the final price Vanessa paid. $$65$ $-$ $$29.25$ $ = $ $$35.75$ Vanessa paid $$35.75$ for the pair of suspenders.